2024 Digital Program - Flipbook - Page 32
The Deer Divide
Right off the coast of Los Angeles, Catalina
Island is well known for its luxurious vacation
spots, outdoor activities, and rich wildlife. In
spite of its constant flow of tourists, it is home
to many - humans and wildlife alike. Mule
deer, originally brought to the island over a
century ago for hunting purposes, now pose
the number one threat to the island’s unique
ecosystem, as they are decimating the
island’s endemic plants making the land more susceptible to
wildfire, according to Lauren Dennhardt (Senior Director of
Conservation) and the rest of the Catalina Island Conservancy.
The Catalina Island Conservancy has proposed a plan to
partner with White Buffalo Inc. to eliminate all 2,000 deer on the
island by shooting them with sharpshooters from helicopters. This
proposal, which has been denied twice within the past decade
by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, is receiving
resistance from residents and citizens across the state. Fierce
opposition has sparked the creation of the Coalition Against the
Slaughter of Catalina Deer, a grassroots organization formed by
concerned residents, such as Wendy Hernandez, Pastor Lopez,
William Flickinger, Diane Stone, Robin Cassidy, and Bre Bussard.
The Coalition and its diverse membership are untrusting of the
Conservancy’s structure, its motives, and its science. This film
explores themes of scientific integrity, community engagement
through protest and other methods of direct action, and
differing wildlife conservation philosophies through the accounts
of a variety of individuals and groups.
The Legend of Bill
When a duck challenges the track favorite
in a Texas desert race, only one champion
can emerge from the heat.
